Which Forms Do I File with the School?

You'll find a breathtaking array of homeschool forms on our website.
Which homeschool forms do you need to file ?

We know that filling out forms and submitting them is not one of a homeschooling parent's favorite things to do. 

We're here to help!

Your chosen homeschooling legal option will determine which forms you are required to file with your school district.

Are you new to homeschooling and not sure which homeschooling option you want to use? Check our Iowa Homeschool Options webpage.

Essentially, there are five homeschooling options available:

• Independent Private Instruction
• Competent Private Instruction (CPI) with Reporting & Supervision by a Parent-Selected Licensed Teacher
• Competent Private Instruction (CPI) with Reporting & Supervision by a Home School Assistance Program Licensed Teacher
• Competent Private Instruction (CPI) with Reporting & Submission of Annual Assessment Results
• Competent Private Instruction (CPI) with No Reporting

Now, let’s examine three form-filing guidelines.

1. The first will cover IPI.
2. The second will cover CPI options that require form filing.
3. The third will cover the one CPI option that requires no form filing.

There are no forms that are required to be filed by persons providing Independent Private Instruction.

If the school district superintendent or the director of the Department of Education sends a written request for information to a parent providing IPI, the parent is required to respond with these details:

• the primary IPI instructor,
• the IPI location,
• the name of the authority responsible for the IPI, and
• the names of the students enrolled in IPI.

Homeschool Iowa has designed a response form that parents may choose to use if they receive a written request for information.

It is not a required form, but it can make responding to a written information request easier.

------ CPI FORM A ------

Parents who choose CPI with Reporting are required to file CPI Form A each school year by September 1.

CPI Form A includes requests for mandated attachments, including evidence of immunization and an outline of the course of study (lesson plans).

--- Immunization Evidence ---

The immunization evidence is required if filing Form A for the first time.

Homeschool Iowa provides an Iowa Department of Health immunization exemption form that can be used if there are medical or religious reasons that the child has not received immunizations mandated by state law.

--- Course of Study (Lesson Plans) ---

Homeschool Iowa has designed optional Plan of Instruction Forms that can be used when filing CPI Form A to meet the requirement for the course of study (lesson plans).

--- Filing Form A for Students Younger than 6 or Older Than 16 ---

If parents are filing the CPI Form A for a child younger or older than the compulsory school attendance age (6-16) in order to gain access to dual enrollment, they only need to complete the items identifying the student, the parent, and the request for dual enrollment. No attached course of study (lesson plans) are required.

--- Filing Form A for Students Enrolled in a HSAP ---

If parents are filing the CPI Form A for a child enrolled in a public school Home School Assistance Program (HSAP), they should investigate the requirements of their particular district's HSAP, including what portions of the CPI Form A need to be completed.

--- Note for Those Using CPI with Reporting & Annual Assessment ---

Annual assessment using prescribed methods is required for students under this option, and specified results must be reported to the school district by June 30 at the end of the school year.

There are no standardized required forms for the required annual assessment submission. However, Homeschool Iowa does offer optional forms for parents to use when completing this task. (See the section below with optional forms.)

Due to a 2013 change in the Iowa Code, there is one type of CPI that does not require any reports filed with the school district: CPI with No Reporting.

Find the homeschooling option you are using in the list above, and you’ll see which, if any, forms must be filed with your public school.

You'll find all forms referenced above on our website Iowa Homeschooling Forms page. 

Homeschool Iowa members who have logged into our website have exclusive access to type-in, fillable versions of all forms on that page. Not a current member? Join now!

Keep in mind that, if you access dual enrollment through one of the CPI homeschooling options with Form A filing, you might be required by the school to supply additional information.

Public schools are allowed by law and rule to make the same requirements of dual-enrolled homeschool students as they do for fully-enrolled students for participation in school programs and activities.

For example, the Iowa Department of Education created a Student Eligibility Form for parents of dual-enrolled students to use when certifying that their students meet eligibility requirements set by a state sport association.

Homeschool Iowa has created lots of optional use forms to help homeschooling parents. You’ll find all of them on our website’s Iowa Homeschool Forms page.

Here are just a few of them:

• IPI Response Form

  As noted above, this form can be used by parents providing IPI if they receive a written request from their school superintendent or the director of the Iowa Department of Education asking for information about their homeschool program.

  Some parents use this form as an attached certification of homeschooling when applying for approval as a teaching parent for parent-taught driver education.

• Privacy Protection Forms

  Parents filing any required form with the public school can use these forms to direct the district to maintain all supplied information with privacy protections.

• Receipts for Form Filings

  Parents filing any required form with the public school can use these receipts to create a written record that the filing has been completed.

• Plan of Instruction Forms

  Parents filing CPI Form A may use these forms to comply with the requirement for an attached outline of course of study.

• Contract Templates

  Parents using the services of a homeschool supervising teacher or portfolio evaluator may use these to help define and delineate the rights and responsibilities of both parties in the arrangement.

• Report of Portfolio Evaluator Selection Form

  Parents who are using portfolio evaluation as their means for annual assessment under CPI Option 2 with Opt-In Reporting may use this form to notify the school district of their selected portfolio evaluator. The school can then confirm the license credentials of the evaluator.

• Report of Portfolio Assessment Results Form

  Licensed teachers who are providing portfolio evaluation as a means for annual assessment under CPI Option 2 with Opt-In Reporting may use this form. It offers a simple and efficient template to report required information.

• Test Administrator Certification Statement Form

  Parents who are using standardized testing through private arrangements as their means for annual assessment under CPI Option 2 with Opt-In Reporting may attach this form to their submitted test results.

  It provides added assurance that the test was administered by a qualified test administrator using testing protocol prescribed by the test publisher.

• CPI Student Eligibility Form

  Parents of dual-enrolled students who are participating in public school activities with eligibility requirements set by state associations may use this form to certify grades.